Overrated
by The Rad Writer
Summary: High school is overrated. Liquor is overrated. Boys are overrated; and love is hella overrated. (Naruto characters in a high school environment.)
1. Chapter 1

_**Chapter 1**_

_Sakura_

Brown eyes were nice. Blue eyes were a different kind of nice, the happy-go-lucky kind that saw the world with a childlike wonder, but brown eyes just _knew_. They were mysterious. They were seductive.

Brown eyes would take one look at you in the first grade and leave you looking on for the next twelve years.

"You're doing your creepy staring thing again," Ino commented blandly, not even bothering to look up from her lunchbox.

I flinched, peeling my eyes away from cobalt blue hair and turning to the audacity beside me. I opened my mouth to say something when the platinum blonde took a break from scarfing food into her mouth to raise a hand to my face.

"Save it, I saw you. Hell, even he probably saw you." My eyebrows furrowed slightly as the heat crept up my neck, I opened my mouth but she wasn't finished.

"What kind of a ninja makes it so obvious when they're spying, like you do realize our job is to spy. We're basically _training_ to be spies. That's literally the meaning of our existence." She paused, meeting my glare head on, "dumbass."

My nostrils flared and I swear I tried my best to stop them.

"Why do I bother hanging out with you, you're always acting up like this." I threw my hands into the air exaggeratedly, why did she always have these random mood swings?

Ino scowled at me, "I only act up when I see you doing dumb shit like this, if I don't call you out on it who else is gonna stop you from making a fool of yourself around Sasuke?"

"I am not making a fool of myself," I was yelling now, "I only _looked_ at him, what the hell is wrong with you," I said it as more of a statement than a question because well, I knew that question had no one answer.

Ino abruptly rose to her feet, "well _stop_. What is looking at him gonna do? The more time you waste thinking about him the longer it's gonna take to get the fuck over him. You're only making it harder for yourself to just _move on_." Blue eyes weren't always cheerful. Sometimes blue eyes were ice cold and bitchy.

I sputtered. Well that was cruel. Honest and maybe even a little enlightning, but cruel, and my pride wouldn't let me consider the thought just yet. I leaped up onto my feet, scraping my arm against the tree we'd been leaning against in the process.

"That's not your decision to make," she'd yanked the fight right out of me, but I still managed to fix her a cold, hard glare.

"Maybe not but we both know it's about time," here's a fact of life, icy blue eyes never waver.

"About time for what?" Ino and I followed the all too familiar voice, craning our necks up to find Rock Lee propped on a thick tree branch with his arms on his hips and his mouth split in a toothy smile.

I froze as Ino stepped closer toward the tree, a smirk threatening to spread her lips. She propped a hand up onto her waist, "oh we're just talking about how Sakura needs to update her wardrobe asap, it's just too outdated."

Before Rock Lee could respond Shikamaru stepped out from behind the tree. What? How long had he been there?

"Sounds more like it's about-" Ino kicked his shin, her stern expression never changing.

"Nobody asked you." She said blatantly.

"What the hell!" Shikamaru straightened out, staggering back a little as Ino stepped toward him almost menacingly.

"What's going on?" I whipped my head to the familiar voice behind me, not all that surprised to find Naruto with Sasori and Sai not too far behind him.

I inwardly groaned, praying that nobody else had paid attention to our outburst earlier. Them I froze. What if Sasuke had heard? I turned my head left and right, pale pink hair flailing about as I glanced around for any sight of him. I realized, with a tiny tinge of disappointment, that he was no longer in the courtyard.

"Sakura," my eyes returned to Naruto in a flash, "well?"

"Oh right," I chuckled awkwardly, shrinking under their gazes, "it's nothing, Ino and I just got into an argument as usual."

Naruto's expression changed in the blink of an eye. He grinned wide, to my relief, though Sai and Sasori's fixed gazes were a little unnerving.

"Ofcourse-"

"Looks like the entire crew's here," a voice interrupted Naruto as he was speaking. I turned in the direction the boys were now facing, noticing Kiba and Neji had joined in too. I deflated inwardly, well, not the entire crew.

Hinata popped out from behind Neji, smiling bashfully.

"Where's the fight?" Kiba grinned, eyes wandering from face to face.

"What fight? There's no fight," a crooked smile slithered up my face as I made my way toward him, "we're just chillin," I extended my arm and gripped his shoulder.

Kiba' eyes widened, "so what are all of you doing here anyways?" I asked, still squeezing his shoulder.

"We wanted to see if you guys wanted to go eat at that new place they opened up in the village," I turned away from Kiba to find Sasori stepping past Naruto as he spoke, his eyes gradually meeting everyone's in the misshapen circle.

"I'm down," Ino replied. A chorus of "me too"'s rang out of the crowd.

Sasori turned to Kiba, who nodded in approval, then landed on me, who was a head shorter than the previous boy and still clinging to him with one hand.

Looking back over my shoulder, I opened my mouth to respond when he drawled out a "well?"

My mouth snapped shut. Wait. What was that? Where was that attitude coming from? My eyebrow quirked involuntarily but I gave a curt nod of approval, and he moved on to Hinata and Neji without a sparing glance.

"Sakura," Kiba hissed as Hinata's soft voice rose into the air. My head snapped up to meet his eyes, having been left in a mild state of confusion by Sasori I'd completely forgotten Kiba was there.

"My shoulder," he glared down at me and I jerked my hand away as if it'd been burned, realizing that I'd been squeezing down on it, "sorry about that." I scratched at my cheek awkwardly, coughing out a laugh.

"Alright!" Naruto beamed openly, and I was grateful for the loud boy's distraction, "what time do you guys wanna meet up?"

"Everyone be there around eight." Ino ordered more than suggested, but we all agreed as usual seeing as we had no other plans.

With that the bell rang, signalling the crew to return to class.

"What was up with Sasori back there?" Ino asked as she caught up to me near the middle of the disfigured formation.

I turned to her, forehead creased, "right? Like I know we don't really talk so I'd understand if he was kinda awkward about inviting me but that was flat-out rude."

I huffed, still facing Ino, "I think he might be into you though, did you see how he was staring you when he told everyone about the invite?" I grinned.

The platinum blonde smirked in response, "really? I didn't notice," she said, glancing over at the crimson haired boy near Naruto and Sai over by the front.

I followed her gaze, staring at the back of the boy's jutting-out, crimson red hair with an admittedly more hostile undertone to my sea green eyes, my gaze wandering as I checked for a certain cobalt blue haired boy in the crowd of students, coming up empty.

"Anyways, I'll pick you up tonight so get ready on time or I'm leaving your ass at home," Ino said almost jokingly, though I knew she was dead serious. The girl had the patience of a boar.

"Fine, fine." I waved my hand dismissively as we made our way into class.

* * *

**A/N**

Thoughts? I'm hoping to build Sakura up from her originally annoying and flawed character into a strong one instead of jumping straight to the independent woman part haha.

Who do you like better? Sakura and Sasuke or Sakura and Sasori? :$

Review, fave, alert, etc. to let me know if you're interested in the story. :)


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2**_

_Sasori_

We were making our way down to _Nobu's_, the new shop that had opened up in the village. The Hidden Leaf village was a small but quaint place. Despite being a village of ninjas, when something new happened it would reach the other end of town by the end of the day. Naturally, Naruto had to check out every new shop that opened up, so here we were, taking a stroll down the street.

"So is Sasuke coming too? You said you were gonna invite him." Sai spoke up, continuing the conversation I'd tuned out of.

"I asked but he said he might be doing something tonight," Naruto paused and the three continued to walk on in silence, "he said he'll drop by if he can."

A close-lipped grin slid onto my face without a second thought, "you don't think he's finally found himself a girlfriend on the low do you?"

Sai and Naruto turned to face me simultaneously, then Naruto burst out laughing. He laughed, and laughed, and laughed.

I smiled awkwardly at a nearby pair of old women who whispered to each other at the sight of us. Looking away, I sighed, glancing over at the loud, blonde guy beside me. For as long as I could remember Naruto had always been a topic of interest among the villagers, whether it be out of ridicule or acknowledgement. He was speaking again, and I tried to focus but couldn't, thoughts wandering.

As a child he'd been feared as the infamous _Nine-Tailed Fox_ child, and for years it was as if he was nothing more than a capsule for the beast, and was treated as such. That is until after his first few missions as a genin. The village had been short-handed on upper level ninjas at the time and him and his team had been sent out on a higher rank mission from which they returned heroes. I hadn't lived in the village at the time so I wasn't too clear on it. Although Naruto had told me stories about his first few missions all those years ago they'd been replaced with memories of all that he and I had accomplished together in the time after I moved to the Hidden Leaf village.

After the mandatory two-year experimental period the teams were officially permitted to disband. Some opted to remain with their original teammates for future missions or social groupings, others took advantage of the oppurtunity to act alone. Sasuke Uchiha was one of those people, and Team 7 inevitably split up, Sakura opting for Ino over Naruto. I guess I should be grateful for the two of them having abandoned him like that, but something about the sight of a dejected Naruto sitting alone on the roof of the school building all those years ago didn't sit right with me at the time, when I'd pinned him for a loud, obnoxiously happy human being, and the image still didn't sit right with me to this day.

Sasuke Uchiha was hard for me to analyze beyond the mask that he put up for the public, but Sakura was a whole other story. I could see through her like an irrelevant space of air one might zone off into once in a while, and quite frankly I was unimpressed with what I saw. Shallow, superficial, and completely unaware of it. Her tendency to string Naruto along while pining after Sasuke irritated me to no end. There isn't anything more unattractive than a girl who doesn't know who she is or what she wants. She chose Sasuke as a love-interest under sheer influence. Everybody wanted him, so she wanted him too. I doubt she even has any real reason to like him, let alone _love_ him. Girls often believed things like that didn't they? Believed in that kind of bullshit love.

I sighed inwardly, glancing at Naruto who was still rambling on with big, blue eyes full of excitement. Why didn't he understand he could do better? Why didn't he understand that there was more options in the world besides a childhood crush. That there was a life after that first crush? That desperate crush. That _pathetic_ crush, and I'm not just talking about the act itself.

"I can't wait till graduation," Naruto's voice suddenly popped into my head, distracting me from my thoughts. "Three more months and we're done with these tests."

"Three more months and we're gonna be sent off into the real world," Sai added on.

"As long as the real world doesn't involve stupid math equations I ain't gonna complain," Naruto responded with a chuckle.

"You do know that math is supposed to be applied to real life s-"

"Oh, we're here," I blinked at the shop with a sign that read _Nobu's_ not too far ahead of us, not noticing that I'd cut Sai off until we'd already stepped in through the entrance.

Already seated at a table inside the small but roomy shop, Kiba grinned as soon as he saw us, commenting on our slight tardiness. Neji acknowledged us with a nod, turning to ask Hinata, who was seated between him and the wall, if she was hungry.

Hinata shook her head no, smiling bashfully as she said "I can wait until the others get here," shooting a fleeting glance at the three of us before channeling her gaze down at the rectangular table.

Naruto and Sai took their seats right across Kiba and Neji, and I took my respective seat across from Hinata, shoulder almost touching the wall just as hers was. I scoped out the remaining seats, one beside Naruto, another directly across from it beside Kiba, and the last one at the head of the long, wooden table.

I did the calculations in my head. Ino, Shikamaru, Rock Lee, Sasuke, and Sakura. That meant there were only enough seats for three of them. Hopefully, Sakura and Sasuke could just sit at the four-person table over if need be. I suppressed a smirk at the thought. It didn't really matter what they did together as long as she wasn't bothering Naruto.

"If they're not here in the next few minutes I'm gonna start ordering without them," Kiba spoke up, Akamaru barking in agreement.

"What was that?" All heads turned toward the curtained entrance as Ino poked her head into the room, grinning.

"Don't be such a dick, Kiba," Sakura joked as she stepped in behind her.

I turned away and leaned onto the table, propping my face into the crook of my hand as i muttered, "dammit."

My eyes watched them, unamused, as the two approached us at the table. Ino took a seat beside Kiba, immediately engaging in conversation that I didn't bother to try to decipher. My eyes fell on the pink-haired one then, eyebrows crinkling slightly as she took the seat beside Naruto.

Why couldn't she just leave him alone? I watched as Naruto welcomed her to the table with a toothy grin. Why did she always have to turn to Naruto when Sasuke wasn't around, and then discard him like she had when her _beloved Sasuke_ quit Team 7? I chewed on the inside of my cheek, eyes plastered on the two of them as she chuckled at something someone said.

"Um, Sasori?" My eyes snapped away from the two, following after the voice that came directly across from me. Hinata met me with big, blue, doe-like eyes.

"Is everything okay?" She whispered so quietly that even Neji didn't turn to the sound of her voice.

I paused for a moment, gazing directly at her, and felt the creepiest smile slither up my face.

"Sasori?" She whispered a little louder as she leaned back into her chair. Neji's head snapped away from the group and toward Hinata, following her gaze.

I flinched the creepy smile off my face in the blink of an eye, leaning back into my own chair as I flashed him a quick, awkward one instead.

His pale eyes scrutinized me for a moment before he turned to ask Hinata what happened.

"N-Nothing," she stammered, blushing as she peeled her gaze away from my face.

She gave Neji a small smile, "it's nothing, sorry about that."

Neji glanced at me, and it took me a moment to turn my gaze away from Hinata's turned head, too preoccupied by my racing thoughts.

"Sorry about that," I said politely after Neji indulged in the group conversation once more. I turned my gaze onto Hinata, "I just think I'd like to ask you something."

"What is it?" She asked somewhat cautiously, soft voice rising into the air.

I leaned into the table then, making my face as serious as I could manage, "how do you feel about Naruto?"

I literally saw the blush rise up her face as Hinata turned beet red.

"I-I-I," I felt like a dick, I really did, it was clear to everyone how the sapphire-haired girl felt about Naruto, well everyone _but_ Naruto. As amusing as it was to see her flustered, her stammering wasn't going to get us anywhere, so I finished for her.

"Well don't you wanna know how to get his attention?" I smiled as innocently as I could.

"No!" Hinata jumped in her seat, starting to stammer once more.

Neji's head, along with a few others, turned in our direction. The buzz around the table died down just a little, but when I shrugged my shoulders in reply a few picked up their conversations on cue.

"What the hell are you telling her?" Neji stared at me intently, brows furrowed. Hinata rested a delicate hand on his arm, grabbing his attention.

"N-Nothing, it's nothing." She said quietly.

"What do you mean it's nothing..." his voice trailed off when she passed him a begging look with those eyes of hers.

Neji muttered an obedient "ok" and turned back to the others, the disdain still clear on his face as he leaned down into his propped up fist.

Hinata turned to me and parted her lips. I leaned in closer, glancing at the side of Neji's head as I did so. She followed, whispering a timid little "how?"

I grinned at her, pearly whites flashing just before my mouth started moving of its own accord.

This was perfect. It was better than perfect. If you can't beat the player beat the game or something like that, right? The players would be my puppets, and the game would be to see who could win Naruto's heart. Pardon my cheesiness. Hinata had the potential, she just needed someone to work the strings a little. While Sakura just needed a push. Off screen. But I'd worry about that later, for now I just needed Hinata to catch Naruto's attention in some way.

I glanced over at Naruto and Sakura before turning back to Hinata, who was just a little away from my face at this point.

"Okay?" I whispered.

She blushed a little, "I don't know if I can-"

"Now! Stand!" I exclaimed, still whispering.

Hinata quickly stood from her seat, blushing profusely as the people at the table turned their attention on her.

"I-I'm gonna go wash up before we eat," and just as I'd expected Ino and Sakura offered to come too. The flock left the table and huddled for the washroom in v-formation.

Ah, the wonders of nature.

I stood up from my own seat once they'd disappeared around a corridor, stepping over to Naruto and crouching down beside his chair.

"Yo Naruto, switch seats with me." The blonde looked down at me and blinked, "what's wrong with your seat?"

"I'm claustrophobic," my expression turned anxious, "and it's right in the corner, sorry man but do you mind?" Naruto's eyes widened slightly in understanding, and he opened his mouth to respond.

"Too bad, it looked like you and Hinata were really hitting it off," Kiba smirked, glancing at the two empty chairs in the corner.

"Just switch spots with him Naruto," Neji immediately interjected.

"Alright, alright," Naruto stood from his seat, gazing down at me with bright blue eyes. He cast a fleeting glance at the empty chair beside him that went unnoticed as he made to turn away. Unnoticed by everyone but me that is.

By the time the girls returned from the washroom Shikamaru and Rock Lee had arrived, Shikamaru taking the seat at the head of the table and Rock Lee borrowing a chair from the empty table over so he could squeeze in between Naruto and Sai.

I turned to Sakura when she reached her seat, clearly surprised to see me since she paused for a moment with her hand on the back of the chair before sitting down, head angled straight ahead. I smirked into the palm of my hand, still facing her. She must've still been pissed off about my invitation this morning.

Her head suddenly turned to face me, green eyes crinkling as she offered a smile.

"Hey," she said. I blinked. Mouth set in a stern line as I returned the greeting, leaning back into my chair as my elbows lifted off the table.

She parted her lips to say something else but decided against it, turning her attention on Ino and Shikamaru instead.

My eyes bore into the side of her head, following her gaze to Ino. The girl in question had her arms crossed sternly under her chest, mouth set in a straight line and icy blue eyes locked on Shikamaru as he heaved a sigh. I turned back to Sakura, gaze trailing down her body.

There wasn't much going on underneath that red-collared shirt and pink skirt she always wore, I noted with disinterest. My eyes wandered and I realized that Shikamaru was staring at me as I looked her up and down. Immediately, but smoothly-always smoothly-I turned my attention on the blue eyed teens at the end of the table.

Hinata was blushing still, but she mustered up all her courage to look up at Naruto as he spoke to her, only glancing down at the table every once in a while. My face lit up slightly. I told her just asking him about his missions would get things started. Naruto loved telling stories, and Hinata, unlike the rose-haired girl to my left, had the patience to listen to every bit of it.

"The food's finally here," Lee guffawed, eyes following each plate as the waitress set them down.

"Finally," Ino muttered. However, her irritation couldn't keep her eyes from lighting up as the waitress set down the glasses and sake we'd ordered.

The buzz of voices at the table was replaced with the clattering of plates and glasses as we all dug into the food. Halfway through the meal I glanced over at the plate beside me out of chance, surprised to find the food barely touched. Tilting my head just slightly I came face to face with a head of soft pink hair. I straightened in my seat, curious to see just what the girl was looking at. With the back of her head facing me she stared at the doorway. Then she turned back around in silence.

I continued eating my meal without a second thought, not thinking much of it.

Sai suddenly nudged me in the side, saying "pass the meat."

I glanced over at the plate and reached out, but a slender hand beat me to it. Sakura turned to me with a smile, saying "here you go," but as I reached out to grab it her arm outstretched, driving the plate around me and into Sai's own pale hands.

She turned back to her plate in the blink of an eye, not even bothering to acknowledge my existence. I chomped on a piece of grilled fish. Really? That's how she was gonna be?

"Hey Hinata," Sakura spoke up, interrupting Hinata as she was about to say something to Naruto, "could you pass the rice here?"

I straightened in my chair, watching inconspicuously as Hinata handed the plate over to Sakura, and just as the girl had it in her grasp I pointed my finger and pushed it out of her hand with a single chakra thread. Oops.

The rice spilled over and the plate clattered against the table, still intact. Sakura hesitated for a millisecond before she jumped up in her seat with a gasp, "I'm so sorry, Neji!"

"It's alright, I was finished anyways," the pale boy dismissed, already scraping the rice into a mountain and mixing it into the leftover bones on his plate. Everyone else continued on with the last of their own meals.

"You're so clumsy, Sakura," Ino groaned absent mindedly.

Sakura huffed out a laugh, "I don't know what happened, it just slipped." She chuckled awkwardly as she scooped out what was leftover of the rice.

"Try to be a little more careful next time," I purred. No, I didn't actually purr I just said it very condescendingly. I hadn't bothered to look at her when I said it, so when I turned to her in question of the sudden silence on her part I was a little rattled to meet the intense glare boring into my skull.

I blinked, had she seen my chakra threads?

Sakura's expression completely changed as she turned away in response to the waitress that had approached the table. She handed her her plate with a smile, asking the woman to pack it up for her.

"Time for sake!" The platinum blonde cheered as the waitress turned to leave, reaching for the bottle in the centre of the now empty table.

The group erupted in excited buzzing once again. Once Ino spilled the liquor into her glass and set the bottle down I yanked it out of her hands before anyone else had the chance to.

"Here Hinata," I leaned over the table, "have a shot." I hoped the liquor would loosen her up a little, get her to talk more freely with Naruto. I poured the substance under Neji's hesitant, watchful gaze. Immediately turning to Naruto as I did the same for him, grinning as I said "here you go, man."

"Pour it for me too!" Lee grinned. I set the bottle by him.

"Do it yourself, you've got hands."

The bottle went around the table once, then a second time, and a third, then a fourth and a fifth for the ever competitive Naruto and Rock Lee, who were trying to see who could out drink who.

I drank back my shot, still on my third. Glancing over at Ino who had an arm crushing Shikamaru into her I silently wondered what state the ever quiet Sakura Haruno must've been in. I turned to her, met by a head of pink hair once again. I rolled my eyes, leaning into her until my mouth was beside her ear.

"He's not coming," I whispered.

She whirled her head around, tickling my face with that short pink hair of hers. Sea green eyes frozen with such rigidness, she met my unamused gaze head on. Her lips parted but she seemed to decide against it again, shaking her head.

Instead she asked in an almost mocking tone, "who?"

"Sasuke," I replied casually, watching her expression.

Her mouth didn't change from the stern line it had been. I felt the smirk twitch the corner of my lip upward.

Sakura glanced behind me and leaned in closer, I returned the gesture out of curiosity and craned my neck until she was at my shoulder.

"I noticed you've been paying Hinata some extra special attention tonight," she smirked, "which reminds me, I never did ask why you and Naruto switched seats."

I returned the stern lipped mouth from before. I didn't need her sticking her nose in matters that were supposed to get rid of her.

I blinked then, noticing something as she pulled back, feeling her warm breath on my ear as she did so. Eyebrows furrowing, I met her before she'd retreated completely.

My face was inches away from hers but I couldn't smell it. I couldn't smell the sake.

Sakura's eyes went wide but she remained frozen in place. As my eyes met hers, completely perplexed, she composed herself and gently slapped a hand onto my face.

"I don't care how drunk you are," she leaned back, eyebrows knit together, "don't pull that kind of shit." Her hand remained pressed against my face in an attempt to distance us.

I grabbed it by the wrist, inching it away.

"I don't get drunk." I frowned, still confused from before, "I was trying to smell the alcohol on your breath."

She paused, looking at me expectantly, "and?"

I caught Ino and Shikamaru swaying in my peripheral vision, but didn't bother to look away.

"I don't smell it." I finished lamely.

Someone slammed yet another shot glass onto the table. Naruto was shouting now.

"And?" She stared at me, unamused.

A diagonal blur slammed into the table from the corner my eye.

And what? And it was weird. And it was unexpected. And I couldn't make sense of it.

"You don't drink?"

"Not with strangers." She quipped, green eyes hard.

Suddenly the chaos around us came to light all at once. I snapped my head to the side. Kiba was planted face down on the table, and Akamaru's large head suddenly poked out from underneath the table. Ino and Shikamaru and passed out clinging to each other on the floor. Neji was headed for the door with a red-faced Hinata lying in a daze on his back.

Sakura leaped out of her chair and dashed for the two on the floor, separating their entangled bodies.

I looked behind me to find Sai, no different than usual except his flushed face. He watched in silent amusement as Naruto and Lee grabbed each other by the fronts of their shirts and pulled their fists back simultaneously. I rose an outstretched hand by my side, two chakra threads shooting through my fingers, wrapping around their arms and yanking them back in unison.

"Sai, grab Lee." I caught Naruto mid-fall and Sai did the same for the blubbering black haired one.

I looked over to Kiba, still face-planted into the table. Akamaru had climbed on top of the table now, he yanked at the boy's sleeve with his sharp teeth. He slowly managed to drag the Kiba up onto the thing altogether. Neji stood at the entrance, looking back at the rest of us expectantly.

Suddenly Sakura popped up, Ino and Shikamaru hanging limply on either side of her.

"We'll be leaving first," Neji said wearily as the two disappeared behind the curtain door.

Akamaru hopped off the table not too long after with a sleeping Kiba lying sideways on his back.

"Can you take Shikamaru with you?" Sakura asked the beast as it gaited past her, "he lives a few houses down from Kiba, I'm sure you'd be able to pick up is scent." The dog eventually obliged, waiting patiently as Sakura draped Shikamaru across his back the same as Kiba.

"I'll take Rock Lee to his home," Sai offered, to which I nodded in response. As I made my way after him and the dog with Naruto in my arms I spared a glance at the rose-haired girl who was catching up to us with an unconscious Ino on her back.

Desperate for the cool, crisp midnight air outside of the humid resteraunt, I sped through the entrance. Or tried to. Sakura caught up at the same damn time and the force knocked the both of us backache once. I glared down at her and she up at me, making our ways through the door in unison once again. I grit my teeth trying to squeeze past but she wouldn't let up.

"Let me go already!" I yelled down at her, and she met me with equal force.

"Haven't you ever heard of 'ladies first'?" Her brows knitted together.

"Funny, I don't see any ladies around here."

She scowled, groaning in frustration before taking a step forward.

Nah, I don't think so. I charged forward too, but this time we both managed to squeeze through the doorway. The air embraced me like a welcomed second layer of skin. I didn't get the chance to enjoy it though, because I could feel her glaring at me still. That's right, I could _feel_ it. Like before I even had the chance to see it.

I returned the glare, turning away with a "hmph" in unison with her. I glared some more over my shoulder at this, but she met it head on.

I grunted, turning down one end of the road as she made her way in the opposite direction.

The stars witness to our dislike.

* * *

**A/N**

I'm trying to start off this story with the same kind of annoying attitude Sakura had at the beginning of Naruto, but with a few alterations because they're 17 here, not 12.

I want Sasori to have a dislike for her whether it's justified or not, because someone needs to call her out. There's a little something for everyone here in this chapter, NaruHina, SasoSaku (I guess), anti-Sakura, even a little NejiHina haha.

Tell me if Sasori's perspective on Sakura annoys you, tell me if you agree with him. And don't get me wrong, Sakura has always been one of my favourite characters, but even your faves need to be called out on their bs sometimes.

Review, alert, favourite, etc. to show your support. Please and thank youuu.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_Sakura_

"It was hilarious, you and Shikamaru all over each other," I turned to Ino grinning, "I bet if you hadn't been so wasted you would've punched him in the face for touching you."

Ino grimaced, pointing a finger at her mouth in mock vomit. "Why didn't you keep an eye on me? As the sober one it's practically your job to babysit your _best friend_," she stressed this quite dramatically might I say, "in her intoxicated state so that she doesn't end up in situations exactly like that."

Ino scoffed exaggeratedly, flipping back the ponytail that wasn't anywhere near her shoulder. Her long, blonde hair swayed gently as a breeze danced past us. The rustle of a nearby tree caught my attention, its branches bouncing as a schoolmate of ours whizzed by onto the next tree, and the next, and the next.

"How'd everyone end up getting home anyways? From what I remember," and the most mischievous of smiles turned the corners of her lips upward at this, "we were all fucked," icy blue eyes turned to me, glinting as she stretched out the last word.

"Sai took Lee home, Akamaru took Kiba and Shikamaru, and Neji took Hinata." I replied, eyes scoping out the scattered students on the path before us.

"So you took me and Naruto?" Ino's eyebrows rose up to her hairline, "we live in like, two different parts of the village."

"Sasori took Naruto home." I didn't bother to hide the disdain in my voice.

Ino's face relaxed as she quirked a well-groomed eyebrow, "you're still mad about the invitation thing?"

My eyes clashed against her own icy blue ones as recollection of the night before replayed in my mind. From the rude comments, to the to the trick he pulled with the plate and his chakra threads.

"He's so obnoxious," I replied after what seemed to me like a long moment of silence, rolling my eyes as I did so. "Sasuke never showed up," I added as we walked on.

"I didn't expect him to," Ino responded, eyes cast straight ahead on the path to the academy.

I deflated a little. What more was there to say? He hadn't come, I had no idea where he was or what he'd been doing instead. I hadn't checked up on the boy since our initial genin days, back when we were on Team 7 together and I had the opportunity to always have him by my side. As team mates, at least. Since then I'd only heard of him through rumours or a surprising (to me anyways, and it was always surprising, any sort of news on his life was to be packed away and stored in some part of my mind) update at our get togethers every once in a while. Courtesy of Naruto's big mouth of course. Never directly.

As Ino and I stepped into class my eyes immediately pulled toward the blue-haired boy staring out the window in the farther back corner of the room. In the desk behind him sat Sai looking through one of his sketchbooks. As I followed Ino to our assigned seats aligned with Sasuke's desk, Naruto, seated behind Ino, broke off his conversation with Sasori to greet us. Had the obnoxious red-head always sat behind me? I never noticed before.

I whirled in my chair to face Ino, legs crossed. Leaning in, I cupped a hand to my face and whispered, "just my luck, he sits behind me."

Without bothering to spare him a glance she whispered back, "he's always sat behind you, where the hell have you been?" She chuckled, peeking at Sasori with bright blue eyes.

"Whoops, he's looking right at us," she whispered harshly into my ear before I could comment on my failure to notice him probably had to do with how insignificant he was.

"Don't care," I rolled my eyes, gaze catching on a head of cobalt hair as it shifted to face the front of the room. I immediately looked away, leaning back into my chair and lightly running a hand through my hair as I took in the boys behind me with a lazy gaze.

Naruto was babbling on about some tournament to Sasori who nodded his head as he listened.

Huh, he didn't seem like much of a fighter.

I continued scoping out the students. Sai was still flipping through his sketchbook. Over in the other row sat Shikamaru staring down the back of Sasori's head with those intense eyes of his. Wait, was it Sasori or me that he was looking at? Well it didn't really matter. My gaze flit past him uninterestedly, eyes hovering over Neji and his boys in a row behind him, then Hinata a few desks away from them. This was probably the only time the two of them weren't side by side.

Growing bored, I turned back to face the front of the class. Finally, the teacher stepped in and the lecture came to a start.

* * *

"Hurry Ino," I whined, yanking my bag up off the ground and swinging it over my head in one quick motion. Gripping my fingers around the thin strap now crossed over my body I made my way to the doors without sparing the blonde a glance. Classes were over for the day and that meant we had to get out of here as soon as possible so we wouldn't be late.

As I approached the door I suppressed a groan at the sight of crimson hair bobbing in my peripheral vision. I shot a quick glance to my right before returning my attention to the empty doorway. Boy, these kids didn't waste any time getting out of here. Then again, considering I'd been waiting on her for the last ten minutes it wasn't all that strange.

I sped up, noting with a tint of pride that I had reached the door first.

Apparently so had he.

I grit my teeth and unleashed a scathing glare on that passive face. I did _not_ have time for this.

"Move." I grumbled, shoving him deeper against the doorframe.

"Why don't you," he muttered back, trying to force himself through still.

I scowled. I knew that if I just stepped back the whole ordeal would take much less time than if I stayed crushed against him as we currently were, but I wasn't strong enough to be able to back down. I was going to get through first.

I lurched forward, wincing as my arm pressed into the doorframe even more. I kicked a foot forward attempting to pull myself through with the force, and seeing this he squeezed a hand onto the side of my waist crushed against him. He couldn't move his other hand at all it seemed.

"What are you doing?" I growled as his fingers dug through my shirt and into flesh.

"Trying," he huffed, "to go," he was using me to push himself forward, and it was working, "home."

He popped through, staggering forward as I fell to the ground under the pressure of his hand as it pushed down on me.

"What the hell was that," Ino appeared behind me, whispering as she snaked her arms under my shoulders and pulled me to my feet. I didn't answer, instead I glared at the upright red-head as he draped his bag over his shoulder and turned away with a proud glint to his eye, though his face remained rigid as always.

"Seriously, what the hell was that?" Ino pressed, eyebrows knit together as I turned to face the blue-eyed girl in question.

"I told you, he's _so_ obnoxious," I whirled myself around, "doesn't even have the courtesy to let _a lady_ go first!" I yelled at the back of his retreating form.

"Give me a call when you see one!" He shouted back, not even bothering to turn around.

I grit my teeth.

"As much as I wanna talk about this," Ino began, catching my attention so I turned back around to face her, "if we don't hurry we'll be late getting to her."

My eyes widened in panic. I'd completely forgotten. How could I have forgotten? I grabbed Ino my the hand and yanked her forward in the opposite direction Sasori had taken, the word "shit!" echoing through the empty hallway.

* * *

"You're late," the blonde woman glared down at us as we stood, what I hoped looked solemnly at her door.

"I'm sorry Lady Tsunade," I thought to say something more but anything I could say would sound like an excuse.

"Ten laps around the academy grounds," Lady Tsunade ordered, glaring down at us. I inwardly groaned, not again.

"When you're finished you can meet Shizuku in the autopsy room."

"Yes ma'am," Ino and I sighed in unison.

Lady Tsunade quirked an eyebrow, "well what are you waiting for?"

Ino and I immediately turned away, sprinting down the hall, out the doors, and spilling out onto the academy grounds.

"She's making us do laps again," Ino huffed as we started onto the pavement that circled the academy.

"It's like her favourite punishment," I replied, inhaling and exhaling. It wasn't our first time, and to be honest the running had done a damn good job of getting us in shape. It wasn't even a struggle anymore, just an annoying bump in the road that delayed us from what we were there to do in the first place.

I'd began working under Lady Tsunade as an intern a little after Team 7 had disbanded. It was your typical wanting-to-be-less-of-a-burden scenario. Having been on Team 7 I'd always been protected by Naruto and Sasuke, and although I did understand that I left myself in a position where I needed to be saved all the time, something deep down in the most hushed corners of my mind blamed them for my weakness. I knew that if I'd just trained more and worked harder I'd have better control over the role I played on those missions, but I couldn't help but wonder if it was because of their tendency to always be there in my time of need that I lacked the growth they'd shown in the two years we were together._ I can_ shifted all too quickly to _they can._

I doubted myself and perceived myself as lesser than the others because I didn't have the same attributes as they did, I was after all, a normal little girl from a normal family. I didn't have a demon hibernating inside my body and I didn't possess any ancient techniques passed down to me. I was just an average girl. Too young to understand that if I'd just had a different outlook on things I could've been less of a burden. I could see how far Naruto had come and all that Sasuke had the potential to accomplish, but I couldn't see how far _I'd_ come, couldn't understand that my own accomplishments weren't meant to be compared to theirs to bring myself down on sleepless nights stained with self-loathing, but acknowledged in the humblest of notations.

After we all seperated I figured I needed to have _some_ method of taking care of myself. I mean, I couldn't rely on them anymore, they weren't responsible for my well-being. I'd wanted to study under Lady Tsunade because I thought I'd be able to use the experience as a medical ninja to protect myself. I mean, I'd literally be healing myself, there was no way I could get in anyone's way if I had the ability to heal my own wounds, not anymore. I'd never have imagined medical training to be so rigorous, not mentally, that wasn't too far a stretch for what I'd presumed, but physically. Although, I suppose it's Lady Tsunade's personal take on teaching that makes it so.

"Lap five," Ino glanced at me with that glint in her mischievous blue eyes.

I shot her a passing grin. We always raced the last half.

Come to think of it, Ino had changed quite a bit too. I'd convinced her to study underneath Lady Tsunade with me not long after joining myself, and we'd been carrying out as a team ever since. Along with the general D and C rank missions the village hired us for, we carried out side missions as Lady Tsunade's disciples. Granted, she was the one to assign us in both cases. Though the latter is often assigned under educational purposes so we're not entitled to any pay, every once in a while we'll hit the jackpot.

The horizon sparkled golden-bronze like ancient armor. A cluster of fuschia pink and mandarin oranges pooled around the setting sun as if seeping the blue out from the sky. The pats of our feet on the ground and staggered breaths rose into the air as Ino and I evenly ran our laps. We were on the eighth one now and I still hadn't managed to shake her off.

I slapped my hands together and mumbled as I made the appropriate hand gestures. I could instantly feel the muscle fibres in my legs come to life as I sprung past Ino and across the starting point for the last time. I could feel the concentrated chakra flowing down my thighs and legs like a burst of newfound energy that just wouldn't go away.

"You didn't think I'd just stagger behind and lose like last time, did you?" Ino's always daring voice shouted from a ways behind me.

I looked back, heart pounding in my ears as blood raced throughout my body to the tips of my fingers and toes.

I caught the last of her hand gestures before she burst forward in a sprint. She'd used the same technique. I allowed her a half smirk. So she'd learned.

"Not good enough!" Was all I could manage before I used the technique and sprung forward even faster. I'd only used about one eighth of the chakra I was willing to expend on this race, but we still had quite a ways to go.

Just like that every time I caught Ino within a ten foot ratio I'd direct more chakra to my legs, the concentration so strong that by the time the starting point was once again in sight my legs practically twitched forward in a blur.

"Ugh," I heard Ino groan from behind. She must've been at her limit now.

I internally shook my head, she knew we still had work to do after this why would she use up so much of her chakra for a trivial race? She knew that if it'd been a shorter distance she would've matched up to me, she could've won if she really wanted to. It was just that my chakra control allowed me better stamina since I knew precisely how much I needed and what I was expending. I suppose the girl was just too competitive for her own good.

A light sweat matted my body by the time I crossed the finish line, Ino following in tow.

I panted, grabbing her by the shoulder.

"These laps are annoying, but I've gotta admit, they've really gotten me into shape."

Ino paused for a split second but responded, "true, I've got her punishments to thank for this glorious booty of mine." She smirked before turning in the direction of the building.

I chuckled, following after her as the two of us began to make our way to the abandoned medical building. Well it wasn't actually abandoned, it was just an old hospital that wasn't used anymore so Lady Tsunade often had us perform general operations for studying purposes in it.

"I'll win next time," Ino spoke up without sparing a glance in my direction. She was still a ways ahead of me so I couldn't see her face, but neither could she see mine.

I paused in my tracks, surprised by the sudden declaration. Blinking, I continued forward, smiling as I dashed up behind the girl.

"Easier said than done," I whispered past daringly, eyes set straight on the path before us.

* * *

The moon was but a glowing disc in the midnight sky. Sound had almost completely left the world from where I stood on the bridge. All that remained was the gentle trickling of water and the hum that remained when sound was void. I leaned against the scarlet railing of the bridge glinting under the moonlight. It'd been yet another long day.

I gazed down into the water with lazy green eyes.

"Gotta appreciate beauty every once in a while," I sighed to the moon, satisfied. The wind fluttered then, lifting the hem of my skirt. I dismissed it, I had spandex on underneath after all.

Leaves rustled, cicadas chirped, and I basked in the tranquility of it all for one last second, before releasing my grip on the railing and continuing on in the direction home.

* * *

**A/N**

Hot off the press so there might be a few errors. Anyways, thoughts? :)

Review, fave, alert, etc. to show your support.


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